Pattern-reversal visual evoked potentials in infants: gender differences during early visual maturation.

Full Abstract

This paper investigates gender differences in the peak latency and amplitude of the P1 component of the pattern-reversal visual evoked potential (pattern-reversal VEP) recorded in healthy term infants. Pattern-reversal VEPs in response to a series of high contrast black and white checks (check widths 120', 60', 30', 24', 12', 6') were recorded in 50 infants (20 males, 30 females) at 50 weeks post-conceptional age (PCA) and in 49 infants (22 males, 27 females) at 66 weeks PCA. Peak latency of the major component, P1, was considerably shorter in female compared with male infants. Differences in head circumference do not entirely account for the gender differences in peak latency reported here. A gender difference in P1 amplitude was not detected. These findings stress the importance of considering gender norms as well as age-matched norms when utilizing the pattern-reversal VEP in clinical investigations. Studies including a wider range of ages are clearly necessary in order to establish whether the earlier peak latencies in female infants represents a difference in the onset or rate of visual maturation.

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Author information

Author/s: Malcolm, C A (CA); McCulloch, D L (DL); Shepherd, A J (AJ);

Affiliation: Department of Vision Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland, UK. gcl305(-atsign-)clinmed.gla.ac.uk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Clinical Trial; Journal Article

Journal: Developmental medicine and child neurology (Dev Med Child Neurol), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-May; vol 44 (issue 5) : pp 345-51

Dates: Created 2002/05/29; Completed 2002/06/05; Revised 2008/11/21;

PMID: 12033721, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Age Factors
Cephalometry
Cohort Studies
Confounding Factors (Epidemiology)
Electroencephalography
Evoked Potentials, Visual - physiology
Female
Humans

Infant
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology
Photic Stimulation - methods
Reaction Time - physiology
Sex Factors
Vision, Ocular - physiology

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